Baby You'd Freeze Out There
by SpookyClaire
Summary: Carole's working a night shift on Christmas Eve and happens to see a certain Blaine Anderson sleeping in one of the ER beds. Blangst.
1. Chapter 1

**Baby You'd Freeze Out There**

Summary: Christmas Blangst, Carole's working the night shift at the hospital on Christmas Eve when a certain Warbler shows up in the ER.

00

Initially he hadn't meant to do it.

He'd just slipped on the ice and landed badly on his wrist. It hurt like shit, definitely at least a sprain, but he could live.

But then he'd thought about going to the hospital to get his wrist set. Normally the ideas of hospitals freaked him out, he hadn't exactly had fun as a patient. But the more he thought about it the more the idea seemed appealing.

Hospitals were warm…well, warmer than the park. And they had food. And blankets. And beds to sleep on that were far more comfortable than park benches.

Yeah, the more he thought about it the more appealing it sounded.

So when he happened to hit another patch of ice that he _totally_ didn't see and happened to catch himself on his bad wrist it was a complete and total accident. Because the intense pain that exploded up his arm following the sickening _crack_ was enough to make him dry heave into the gutter beside where he lay. No one would do that to themselves on purpose.

Not any sane, not-completely-desperate person anyway.

So after a moment of dry heaving, he spit into the gutter and forced himself up. Shivering convulsively, he staggered down the street to where he assumed the hospital was. After what felt like days he found himself outside the doors of Lima General's ER. Hugging his arms hard around himself he made his way inside.

00

Carole let out a deep sigh as she walked around the mostly empty ER. The census was lower than usual, and they had more nurses on staff than needed, but there was no way they were going to let her go home early.

She didn't regret picking up the night at work, of course. Sure, Finn, Burt, and Kurt had all been disappointed she'd had to skip out on the Christmas Eve dinner early to work the night shift, but she'd taken the shift with good reason. He coworker Debbie was only in her mid twenties, she wasn't married, and all she had was her mother…who was dying of cancer. Debbie had mentioned she thought her mom wasn't going to make it to New Years, so Carole had immediately offered to work for her so she could spend one last Christmas with her mom.

And Carole had just spent the past hour simply chatting with the older gentleman in room 140. He was a lively guy, fell and messed up his knee. His family had come and spent the whole day with him before heading home. Carole had sat with him and chatted with him about his family, making him feel a bit better about being alone for the night. None of the other nurses had called her, they wouldn't, they were over staffed. So when she walked out she made her way to the front desk.

"Hey Leena, did I miss anything?" She asked, leaning on the counter tiredly.

"A seventeen year old boy with a broken wrist." Leena said, not looking up from where she was typing on the computer. "Slipped on the ice."

"Aw poor thing. Merry Christmas, right?" Carole yawned into her hand, asking "His parents with him?"

Leena glanced up at that, a sympathetic look on her face. "No, he was by himself." She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, "I think the poor thing was homeless or something. He had a nice coat on but he was cold as ice. He must have been outside all night."

Carole's eyes widened in horror. A poor teenage boy all alone outside on Christmas Eve? "What room is he in?"

"160, I think. Jessica said she brought him back from getting his cast put on and he was out like a light. Poor thing." Leena started whispering again, "I'm not going to discharge him tonight."

Carole shook her head, "Oh no, no. Let the poor thing sleep here. Did he have anyone to call?"

"We didn't get a name, he didn't have ID or anything. He started to answer our questions and then promptly passed out one in. Poor dear. Must have been out there for _hours_."

Carole glanced out the window to the falling snow. It was freezing out. Her heart just broke for the boy. "Room 160, you said?" Leena nodded and Carole went off to go check on the poor dear.

She made her way to the room, poking her head in. The boy was curled up on his side, buried under two blankets.

He was fast asleep.

Carole was about to back out into the hallway but stopped. Something about the dark curly hair poking out the top of the blankets made her stop. Something about the boy, what she could see of him anyway, was familiar. She didn't know why but she found herself tip-toeing into the quiet room. She didn't know why she made her way around the bed. She didn't know why she gently pulled the blanket back.

But as soon as she saw his face she knew.

She bit hard on her lower lip so not to gasp out loud. That face. That sweet, angelic, calm face. She knew this face.

This was Blaine.

This was her step-son's boyfriend.

"Oh, sweetie." Carole found herself whispering, and before she could stop herself she found herself running her hand gently though his mass of curls.

He hummed softly, leaning into her hand. "Mmm…mom?" He whispered, his voice barely there. His eyes fluttered, and Carole pulled her hand back. He blinked his eyes open and squinted up at her. Then his eyes widened.

He threw himself back, hitting the railing on the other side of the bed. "Carole?" He gasped, coughing slightly at the roughness in his voice. "Why – who – who called you?"

He seemed so panicked, so worn. "No one called me, honey." Carole said placating. "I picked up a shift tonight."

Blaine paused, staring blankly at her. Then a pained look crossed his face, "Oh God, you work at Lima General." He whispered to himself, falling onto the pillows. "Oh God…"

"Honey," Carole started, pulling up a chair, "What are you doing here?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably, "I slipped and broke my wrist, that's all."

"That's not all." Carole said, trying to meet his eye. "There's much more. Like, where are your parents? And why were you out in the cold for hours on Christmas Eve?" Blaine refused to meet her eye, glancing towards his window that looked out onto the snowy eve. "Blaine?"

"We got in a fight." He whispered, still not looking at her. "This afternoon. We got in a fight. They…they had my phone. And they saw some texts from Kurt…" He stopped.

"What did they say?" Carole asked, not sure if it was something she wanted to hear.

"'I love you.'" Blaine whispered quietly. Carole's eyes widened. She'd known Kurt and Blaine had shared the 'L' word, she heard them say it all the time. But that's what caused the fight? Carole had assumed it was something a bit more…scandalous.

"That caused a fight?" She asked, leaning in.

"They didn't know I had a boyfriend." He whispered.

And that really made Carole freeze, right down to her core. Blaine's parents didn't know he had a boyfriend? Kurt and Blaine had been dating since last spring. They were always together, didn't they ever wonder where their son was all the time? Didn't they care?

"They…they keep trying to convince me it's a phase, you know? So I didn't…didn't want to tell them. Because…because then this would happen." He sniffled, running his un-casted fist under his nose.

"What's 'this'?"

Blaine paused for a long moment, then finally met her eyes for the first time since he woke up. "They told me to leave." He whispered, "They didn't let me grab anything. No clothes, no wallet, no phone. I barely had time to grab my coat. They just…threw me out. Literally." Tears started spilling from his eyes. "I had nowhere to go, I couldn't call anyone - it's _Christmas_. Who wants to be bothered by some charity case on Christmas?"

"Blaine," Carole whispered, placing her hand over his.

"No – I just – I had nowhere to go, you know? I have no family in town. My parents hate me…so I just wondered. And then I fell. And now I'm here." He sniffled again, scrubbing at his eyes.

"Oh, sweetie." Carole whispered. She had no words. What could she say to Blaine? He'd just lost everything, his home, his belongings, his _parents_. And on _Christmas._ Oh God damn Christmas. Tears welled up in Carole's eyes. "Oh Blaine, you could have called us. We-"

"It's only your second Christmas together as a family. I can't – I couldn't bother you."

"But Kurt loves you." She squeezed his hand. "We all do. Sweetie, you always have a home with us."

And suddenly Blaine was sobbing. Without hesitating Carole pushed down the bed railing, sat on the edge, and wrapped Blaine up in her arms. She held him as he cried, whispering sweet nothings and rocking him back and forth. After a moment she said, "Blaine, don't you _Ever_ forget you have a home with us again, ok?" Blaine said nothing, "Ok?" He nodded into her shoulder, another sob wracking his body.

After several long moments of rocking and shushing, the two pulled back. Blaine ran a hand under his nose and Carole handed him a tissue. Wiping at her own eyes she started to speak.

"Tell you what." She said quietly, running a hand through his curls again. She noted he involuntarily leaned into the touch. "My shift ends in two hours. Why don't you get some more rest, and then when I'm done we'll discharge you and you can come home with me. I'm sure we've got some lasagna left, Kurt made more than even Finn could eat…and I'm sure Burt would let you sleep it Kurt's room just this once. It _is_Christmas after all."

Blaine just stared at her for a long moment, eyes wide and red, filled with more tears. He didn't say a word, he just stared.

"Would you like that, sweetie?" Carole asked when he didn't answer. He numbly nodded, more tears slipping from his eyes. "Ok, well then why don't you go back to sleep and I'll come get you when it's time to go." She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. She wrapped her arms around him again and he once again clung to her tight. A soft sob wracked his body as she tightened her grip on him. "Shh…it'll be alright sweetie. We'll figure everything out. Don't you worry. Don't you cry…"

He sniffled loudly as she pulled back, running a fist under his nose and taking another tissue. She gave him a soft smile and stood. "Sleep, ok?"

He nodded, leaning into the pillows as she started walking out. "Carole?"

"Yeah, honey?" She asked, stopping in the doorway.

"Thank you." His voice quivered. "For everything."

She just smiled, "Merry Christmas, Blaine." She heard him softly mumble a response as she stepped back out into the hall. "Merry Christmas…"


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll Hold Your Hands, They're Just Like Ice**

A continuation from this (_Blaine's parents kicked him out on Christmas Eve. Alone and out in the cold Blaine slips and breaks his wrist. A certain Carole Hudson happens to be the nurse on duty that night in the ER._).

00

Carole placed Blaine's file in the cabinet and pushed the drawer shut with a _slam_. Leena jumped, spinning around her chair. "Something wrong?" She asked sarcastically, but once she saw the look on Carole's face she stopped. "Is something wrong?" She asked seriously.

Carole turned to her coworker, scrubbing hard at her eyes. "The boy in room 160. He's Kurt's boyfriend."

Leena's eyes widened in horror, gasping loudly. "No!"

Carole nodded, trying hard not to let emotions get the best of her. She thought of elaborating. Explaining to Leena about Blaine's disapproving parents, about his getting kicked out…but she decided to keep it to herself. "I'm gonna go clock out, and then I'm taking him home with me. I put his discharge papers in his file." She gestured to the file cabinet, "See you on Tuesday. Merry Christmas, Leena."

"Merry Christmas, Care." Leena said, waving slightly as she eyed her coworker with a look of concern.

After clocking out Carole paused, thinking of Blaine's clothes. Currently he was wearing a pair of hospital-issued pajama pants and the white under shirt he'd had on. His khaki pants and somehow his sweater too had been soaked and stained from his fall. His nice leather shoes were soggy. The only item of clothing not messed up was his underclothing. He must have been outside for a long time.

Carole didn't even want to think about it.

Before heading to Blaine's room she ran out to the workers' park lot and ran to Kurt's SUV. _Take the truck,_ Burt had insisted, _your little tin can won't get you through that snow._

"Thank you, Burt." Carole whispered as she opened the trunk. She grabbed the crate of 'emergency items' that they kept there. Pushing aside the gallon of gas, the flashlight, the water bottles, the ice scraper – "Ah, here we go!" She pulled out the 'Hummel Tire and Lube' hoodie, the extra pair of boots, a hat, gloves, and a blanket. "Little big," She mumbled, looking at the sweatshirt and boots, "But it'll do." Stuffing the items in a plastic bag that also sat in the crate she tossed the blanket towards the front seat, slammed the trunk closed, and ran back into the hospital.

Trotting down the hall she made her way to Blaine's room. Stepping in she paused in the door. He looked just as he had before, but a little more peaceful. She stepped up to the bed, lightly placing the bag of clothes on the foot of the bed. She sat down gently on the edge of the mattress, railings still down. Gingerly she rubbed his back, "Blaine? Sweetie, time to get up." She thought back to the first time he woke up_"Mom?"_ "It's Carole," She added as an afterthought, "Time to go see Kurt."

"Kurt?" Blaine sleepily whispered, not opening his eyes. Carole smiled, heart melting.

"Yes, sweetie, Kurt. But he's at home. You gotta get up first." He hummed quietly, flipping onto his back. He blinked his eyes open and glanced at Carole, eyes unreadable.

"I guess I didn't dream it, then." He whispered, pushing himself up with his good arm. He paused, hand pushed down into the mattress. He glanced at Carole, "Listen, Carole, I-"

"If you're trying to talk your way out of this Blaine I'm gonna get some morphine, knock you out, and _drag_ you home."

Blaine smirked, glancing down at the foot of the bed. "You sure you're not blood related to Kurt?"

Carole smiled, running her hand down his arm. "Jury's still out on that…c'mon now, honey. I've got some stuff for you to wear before we head out."

"Are you sure…are you sure this is ok?" Blaine asked, scooting down to the end of the bed. "I mean, tomorrow is Christmas and you guys-"

"Would love for you to join us." Carole said, voice serious. "Now c'mon, slip into these and we'll head out." She pulled the sweatshirt from the bag, handing it to Blaine. "It's kind of big – it's either Burt's or Finn's – but that's good because then we don't have to cut the sleeve." She pulled out the hat and gloves, placing them on the bed beside him. She placed the boots on the floor by his feet and went to fetch his coat from where it hung on the back of the door.

"Do you uh…do you know where my clothes went?"

"I came in and got them before, honey. They're in the car…along with your prescription." Blaine nodded, an unreadable look on his face. Upon seeing his look she quickly said, "Your clothes were filthy honey. It's like you fell into a swamp." She joked, folding his coat over her arm.

"A gutter." Blaine whispered to himself.

"What, honey?" Carole asked, as she crumpled up the plastic bag and stuffed it in her purse.

"I said a gutter…I, uh, fell into the gutter." Carole stopped, glancing down at Blaine.

He now wore the sweatshirt (which was comically too big for him) and the boots (again, comically too big on him). He looked so small, and not just because of his current outfit. His shoulders were hunched, his head down. It was a simple statement,_I fell into the gutter._ But something about it…his tone, the story behind it, everything – it was just so _sad_.

Carole stepped back to the bed, sitting on the edge once again. For what felt like the millionth time and the first time all in one moment she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. "Everything's fine now, sweetie. We're gonna go home, eat re-heated lasagna, and when we wake up tomorrow we're going to eat chocolate for breakfast and watch 'Miracle on 34th Street,' ok?"

Blaine laughed softly into her shoulder, pulling back. "It sounds amazing. Much better than stiff conversation, caviar, and campaign with relatives who hate me." He whispered, wiping his nose on the too-long sweatshirt sleeve. "Oh wait, this isn't mine." He said, eyeing the sleeve.

"You can have it, Merry Christmas." Carole tried to joke, despite her breaking heart. Blaine smiled, reaching for the hat.

"Guess we should head out then?" He asked, pulling the hat on and over his eyes. Carole chuckled, rolling the hem up.

"Sure thing, c'mon honey."

00

Blaine had passed out in the car ride home. Normally it was about 15 minutes but with the snow it was turning out to be closer to half an hour.

As she sat at a red light she pulled out her phone as it vibrated. "Hello?" She answered, voice low.

"Hey honey, you on your way home?" Burt's voice greeted her.

"Yeah, I am. Listen…I…uh…ok, we're going to have a guest with us tonight."

There was a pause, "A guest."

"Yeah. It's…ok, listen, I'll explain when I get home. But…Blaine's with me."

"Blaine? Kurt's Blaine?"

"Kurt's Blaine." She repeated, glancing to the sleeping boy wrapped in the blanket from the trunk.

"What happened? Why's he with you? Is he alright?"

"It's a long story, I promise I'll explain when I get home. Which is now because I'm pulling into the driveway." Without saying goodbye she hit the off button on her phone and turned the car off. Reaching over Carole squeezed Blaine's arm. "Honey, we're ho—here." She said gently, stopping herself from saying _home_.

Blaine let out a muffled response as Carole tugged at the blanket. "W'here?" He repeated groggily.

"Yes, sweetie, we're here. Now c'mon. It's much warmer inside."

After some coercion she got him awake. With half-lidded eyes, a hat pulled half-over his eyes, a bunchy-looking coat, and sweatshirt sleeves hanging over his hands he looked about five years old, Carole just wanted to wrap him up in the blanket and never let him go.

As she slipped out of the car and around to help Blaine out she led him towards the porch. Glancing to the door she saw Burt standing there, still in his 'Christmas Eve Outfit' that Kurt picked out for him.

As they stepped up to the porch Blaine straightened, pausing in front of Burt. "Hello, sir. I know it's Christmas and that you probably don't want me intruding but I didn't have-"

"Son, stop it. You know you're welcome here. And God, call me Burt. How many times do I have to say it?" Burt said, leading Blaine in and closing the door. Carole could see Burt eyeing Blaine's outfit before glancing to his wife. She mouthed 'I'll explain in a bit.' "What happened to your arm?" Burt asked, eyes widening as Blaine's cast became visible.

"Oh – I – I – uh-"

"I'll explain in a bit. Honey c'mon, I do believe I promised you some re-heated lasagna." Blaine nodded, walking to the kitchen.

"His father?" Burt whispered, rage audible.

Carole shook her head, "Well, at least, not his arm."

"What do you mean 'not his arm'?"

Carole bit her lip, then pulled Burt down and whispered in his ear, "They kicked him out." As soon as the words left her lips she slapped her hand over her husband's mouth, muffling a roar of _"What?"_ "I promise I'll explain once he's asleep, ok? Right now let's just feed him more food than he can stand and make him feel welcome."

Burt nodded, she removed her hand, and the two made their way into the kitchen where Blaine was sitting at the counter, glancing up at their shelf of cookbooks. "So did someone say something about lasagna?" Burt asked, pulling the dish from the oven, "Kurt insisted we keep it warming in the oven for you." He said, glancing to Carole as she pulled out a plate. He swiftly scooped a giant serving onto the plate and handed Blaine a fork. "Eat up." It was an order, not a request.

Without a word Blaine began eating. Neatly at first, displaying the manners his parents undoubtedly instilled in him, but soon his hunger got the best of him and he was scarfing down the whole plate in a matter of moments.

"Are the boys asleep?" Carole asked Burt as the two watched Blaine eat.

"It's _only_ 3 AM. Do you _think_ they're sleeping?" Burt asked jokingly, and Carole smiled. "Finn's upstairs playing his Xbox and Kurt was picking out an outfit for tomorrow last time I checked." Carole nodded, glancing to Blaine.

"Should we tell them who's here?"

The sound of someone walking down the stairs interrupted their conversation, "I don't think we have to."

"Finn, shut up-"

"Kurt stop being dumb-"

"Hey dad, we were wondering-" Kurt's words were cut off as he laid eyes on their visitor. Kurt took in Blaine's appearance of over-sized clothing and ungelled hair as he stuffed himself silly with lasagna. "Blaine?" Blaine stared at Kurt, a look of 'deer in the headlights' caught on his face from the second he'd heard his voice. Carole watched as Kurt's eyes traveled to Blaine's casted-wrist. "What happened to your arm?"

Without a word Blaine dropped his fork onto his empty plate, stood up, and all but threw himself at Kurt. "Blaine?" Kurt asked as Blaine clung hard to him, fisting the back of his shirt. "Baby, what is it?" Kurt whispered, but his question went unanswered as a sob escaped Blaine. Suddenly Kurt was clutching him tight, whispering in his ear and rocking back and forth.

Finn glanced back and forth between the pair and his parents. He pointed at Blaine, a look of confusion on his face. "I'll explain later." Carole mouthed, before speaking out loud to Kurt. "Honey, why don't you take Blaine up to your room, you've probably got some talking to do. He can spend the night in there." Kurt nodded, not glancing at his father in fear he'd reject the idea, before pulling back from Blaine, wrapping an arm tight around his shoulders, and leading the crying teen up to his room.

Finn watched them go, then pointed to them again, not saying a word. "He and his parents got in a fight." Carole explained, "I guess…I guess I can tell you." She bit her lip. "It's not really my story-"

"He can share it later if he wants. Just tell us." Burt said exasperatedly, almost eagerly.

Carole chewed on her lower lip, "Well…ok…I guess his parents…they didn't know about Kurt." Burt and Finn's eyes widened. Before they could say anything disparaging about Blaine, Carole went on. "They had a bad reaction and kicked him out the door – literally. He was out in the cold for hours, he slipped on some ice and broke his wrist – I found him at the hospital."

Finn fell into the seat Blaine had just vacated, eyes wide. He glanced back to where Kurt and Blaine went, opening and closing his mouth. "He—his parents—it's Christmas Eve!" He finally squawked out.

Carole nodded, walking over to Finn and giving him a half hug, "I know, sweetie."

Burt was still staring to where the two had disappeared to, "Maybe I should check on them."

Carole glanced to her husband, "Just give them a while honey. They have a lot to talk about."

00

When Carole and Burt had glanced in on Kurt and Blaine an hour later Blaine was fast asleep, arms wrapped around Kurt's waist as Kurt toyed with his curls. Both boys' faces were tear stained, and Kurt gave them a watery smile before biding them goodnight.

Now, several hours later, Finn was the one wandering into their room. "Hey…hey guys?" He knocked on the door. Getting some humming and a muffled 'yeah?' in response he made his way in. "I guess that means you're awake?" Finn made his way in and sat on the cushioned chest at the foot of the bed.

"W'awake." Kurt mumbled, starting to sit up. Yawning wide as he asked, "Since when do you wake up before me?"

"Since I never went to sleep." Finn grinned, "I figured I should get in as much Call of Duty as I can before I lose myself in Skyrim."

"How do you know Santa got it for you?" Kurt asked sarcastically.

"Since Santa is my mother and is awful at hiding gifts." Finn shot back, just as sarcastically.

"Y'er mom's Santa?" Blaine mumbled, burying his face into Kurt's stomach. Both Kurt and Finn started laughing as Kurt ran a hand through Blaine's curls.

"You awake, sweetie?"

"Mmm…am now that I know Carole is Santa." Blaine said, blinking his eyes open. He blinked up at Kurt, smiling warmly, "Remind me why I don't always wake up like this."

"Because my dad's got a shot gun." Kurt joked, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on Blaine's nose.

"Guys. Still here."

"Sorry." Blaine grinned, pushing himself up. He paused, glancing at his cast as if suddenly remembering it. "Oh, right." _That's why I'm here_ hung in the air. Kurt gave Blaine a soft smile, pushing his curls to the side off of his forehead.

"Well, uh, why don't we go downstairs? Mom and Burt made coffee." Finn said, to his credit he was only marginally awkward. The two boyfriends got out from under the blankets. Blaine now wore a pair of Kurt's sweatpants with his white undershirt. Kurt handed him his hoodie, helping him get it on.

"Hey dude, can I sign that?" Finn asked eagerly as soon as he laid his eyes on the plaster. Blaine laughed, glancing at the thing encasing his arm.

"If you want, but I think Kurt get first dibs."

"Kurt _does_ get first dibs." Kurt cut in, eyeing Finn as he rolled up the one sleeve to the edge of his cast for him.

"Kurt I'm not 5." Blaine laughed.

"No but you handicap at the moment." Kurt glanced at Blaine and smiled, Blaine returned the gesture but the smile soon faltered as Kurt turned his back to him.

"Guys?" Blaine said, stopping the step-brothers as they turned to the door. Finn raised an eyebrow and Kurt titled his head to the side, neither spoke. "I…uh…I just want to…" Blaine ran his good hand through his curls. "Uh…heh…" He let out a single awkward laugh.

"Hey, man," Finn said, stepping forward, "You've always got a place here…just on the couch." Finn grinned and Blaine smiled, "Now, _c'mon_, I wanna play Skyrim!" Finn then bolted from the room and ran down the stairs like a child on…well, on Christmas morning.

Blaine glanced at Kurt, a soft smile on his face. "Well, I got his approval. I think that's everybody in the Hummel-Hudson household."

Kurt smiled and walked over to Blaine, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you Blaine, please know that."

Blaine smiled softly, slipping his eyes closed, "I know."

"And I will always love you."

"I know," Blaine whispered again, voice even softer.

They stood like that for a long moment, before Kurt leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Blaine's lips. "Now c'mon," He whispered, pulling back. "Let's go see what Santa brought you."

"Ha, I don't think Santa brought me anything."

"Aw, c'mon, that big fat man is made of magic, I'm sure there's something for you." Kurt grinned. The two pulled back, starting for the door. "Oh! Wait!" Kurt ran to his desk and opened the drawer. Pulling out a pack of colorful sharpies he slammed the door shut and returned to Blaine's side. "I need to beautify your arm candy."

"But my arm candy is already beautiful." Blaine said, slipping his arm around Blaine's waist. Kurt rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. "I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too, Blaine. Now c'mon, let's get downstairs before Finn has an aneurism."


End file.
